Why COP27 is important to PR and comms
Whilst world leaders discuss the future of the planet, it’s a good time to think about our own contributions. Assessing what we can do as PR professionals in helping combat the climate crisis is highlighted through the discussions at COP27.
This week is a good opportunity to think about doing the right thing as a business, now our attention is drawn to climate change. With COP27 ending this week, we are looking at what comms and PR teams can do to combat the climate crisis.
Our work and B Corp status
We at High-Rise Communications are working towards having B Corp certification. B Lab, a non-profit network, is transforming the economy across the world to benefit communities and the planet. One of the ways they’re doing this is through their B Corp programme. The programme pushes for meaningful legal change that keeps businesses accountable and has a positive social impact.
Achieving the status of B Corp would demonstrate the high standards of social and environmental impacts our work has. Working towards B Corp is an ongoing commitment for us. We are constantly looking at becoming as sustainable as possible in our operations. This is by reducing travel when not necessary, using public transport where we can and having virtual meetings where possible.
Our clients and their ethical work
Our clients are leading in their respective fields. This is for the positive impact they have and educating others to develop their businesses and organisations.
We like working with clients who are working hard to make a difference and build stronger communities with the work they do. Some of our purposeful clients include Path Financial, an ethical financial firm with B Corp status. We also work with POhWER, a national advocacy group. We promote their net zero strategy which other charities can replicate and learn from. Dr Waheed Arian, a humanitarian and mental health commentator, is another of our ethical clients. He speaks out about migration and immigration issues. This is inextricably linked to the climate crisis and we know we can’t solve one without working towards reducing global temperatures.
We are proud to work with these clients in boosting their media appearances. This includes showcasing their ethical and climate focussed work, gaining them coverage across national media and boosting their media appearances.
Why COP27 is important to us
Comms can be used to make a positive change on many platforms and can reach more people than we realise. Promoting climate action through the work we do for clients is undeniably important.
The PR industry has unfortunately played a role in greenwashing, helping clients to appear more ethical than they actually are. The climate crisis is urgent and it’s time now for the industry to take some responsibility. Transparency is so important in making change happen. There is growing pressure on some of the bigger PR companies to drop their fossil fuel clients, demonstrating how things have changed. People are more concerned about climate change and demanding greater accountability from businesses. But, this is just the start to taking action against climate change.
So much of what we do can further the engagement of people to actively take part in stopping the climate crisis. Without public participation so much of the work we do in the PR sector won’t be successful. This means any positive environment messages will stay stagnant.
COP27 brings an increased drive for climate action to take place. We are all made more accountable in the fight. Media and broadcasters have an important role in showing the reality of the conference and what can be achieved from it. Informing the public of what is happening there and what this means in simple terms is significant in delivering effective climate news to everyone.
Being an active member of fighting for positive climate action is important all year round, not just during COP27. Businesses are showing more and more interest in supporting climate action and justice, with some focussing on this as we’ve seen.
We value this in our clients and want to support this further. Pushing sustainable and ethical messages through our clients work is an opportunity for us at High-Rise to also better ourselves with the ethical choices we make as a business.
What will we take away from COP27?
We know that comms is always changing and shaping around the media. But, there is a clear and unwavering need to focus on our environment and take positive action against the crisis. We will continue our journey to B Corp status. This holds us accountable and responsible for our actions to keep up the positive impact we have been making for ourselves and our clients.